Black Eyed Peas: 13 August 2010 - Chicago

Returning for a third time to the windy city this year, the Black Eyed Peas delivered a futuristic performance to a packed Allstate Arena.

The Black Eyed Peas have performed in Chicago a total of three times so far this year, and it stills appears that the city hasn’t had enough. The E.N.D. World Tour, which is currently on its second US leg, recently made a stop at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL. Scaling down slightly from the previous leg’s United Center show, the band played to a packed house of 16,000 fans, but made sure to not scale down any of their stage spectacle.

Not many people may be familiar with the full history of the Black Eyed Peas, which actually traces back to their pre-Fergie hip-hop days. The trio of Will.I.Am, Adl.De.Ap, and Taboo formed the band in 1998, and recorded two albums prior to Fergie coming on board. This has certainly been a beneficial decision for the group, as their critical acclaim and ongoing success arrived following the release of the first album with Fergie, Elephunk.

During that time, the band evolved into what is considered to be their “futuristic” style, which was clearly evident during the show. Dressed in outfits which effectively mixed glamor and futurism, the group performed against a video backdrop which shifted from flames to computer circuit board designs, all while surrounded by transforming robot speaker dancers. With an entertaining production extravaganza such as this, maybe it’s not so surprising they have made so many visits here, with assuredly more to come soon.

'Don't Phunk with My Heart' suffers from the two major problems that plague The Black Eyed Peas on this record: unimpressive rapping and, surprisingly for this erstwhile socially conscious hip hop troupe, a distinct lack of substance.